emmens



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' s. H. BMMBNS.

SHELL FOR ORDNANGB.

No. 415,707. I Patented Nov. Z6, 1889.

F gaf (No Model.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. S H BMMBNS SHELL POR ORDNANGE.

Patented Nov. 26, 1889.

- form an efficient gas-check suitable foi-'muzf UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

STEPHEN H. EMMEN'S, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

'si-ELL ronv oRDNANcE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,707, dated November 26, 1889.

Application filed January 11,1889. Serial No. 296,047-l (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN HENRY EM- MENS, a subject of the Queen ot' Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of London, in England, temporarily residing at Harrison, in the State of New York, have inventeda new and 4 The objects of the present invention are,`

first, to adapt hollow projectiles to be more readily loaded with initial and main charges of high explosives, together with a fuse or fuses for igniting the former; secondly, to facilitate access to the interior of such projectiles, as for adjusting sensitive fuses both in front and in rear of an initial bursting-charge; thirdly, to provide the projectile `with a selffiring time fuse let' superior simplicity; fourthly, to provide for charging the heads of common and shrapnel shells with combustible or suoeating substances, and, fitthly, to

zle-l0ade1's,in connectiorwith an extended, lightened, and cushioned base.A

Two sheets of drawings accompany this specification as part thereof. Figure lof the drawings represents an axial longitudinal section of an improved common projectile for muzzle-loading artillery; and Figs.

2, 3, and 4 represent cross-sections on the lines correspondingly numbered through the head, body, andbas of the same, respectively. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, represents an axial longitudinal section of an improved shrapnel projectile for muzzle-loading artillery embodying the same invention in part. Fig. 6 represents a cross-section on the line 6 6, Fig.

5. Fig. 7 represents a sectional plan view in screws on the body B by means of a projectend.

ing lip C, and is provided with a ccntralbore D and sockets E, a foremost port-ion F constituting a removable ring, which screws on a central nipple D', through which said bore I) extends and allows access to said sockets E. The sockets E may be filled with wood, lead,

` or iron for the purpose of adjusting the eenter of gravity ot' the projectile, or with bottics of a combustible iiuid or fluids-such as a solution ot phosphorus in bisulphide of carbon-or a fluid or fluids capable of giving off suffocating or blinding vapors, such as nitro-chloroform.

The body B is in each case constructed with powder chambers E2 for a divided main charge', separated by radial partitions inte-V .cludesr the gases of the propelling-charge of the gun from bursting open the wall I, and acts as a cushion to receive the first shock of the discharge. It also convenienti y receives wood-screws s, for attaching a cup-shaped gascheck Land a rear wad M. 'lhe packing itself is held in place and the gas-check is further attached by a central bolt N, screwing into the rear end of a central nipple O', which may constitute the head of' a base-plug O, as shown in Fig. l, or may be integral with the base G, as shown in Fig. 5. In cach of-.the

said improved projectiles a self-firing timefuse T occupies said head-bore D, and com. munieates with a cartridge E', of emmensite or other high explosive, placed within said tube H, and constituting an initial bursting or igniting. charge to fire the main charge in the chambers E2. Said time-fuse comprises a protruding head e, formed on a metallic tube y, which is tightly fitted to said bore D, and has an internal shoulder near its rear This shoulder supports the head of a rim-fire primer the open end of' which projectsy rearwardly through the contracted bore ot`- the tube and is coupled to one end of a piece of ordinary safety-fuse Iw of the proper length, the other end of which leads to a deton'at-or -v in contact with said cartridge E. A plunger 'u slides freely within the main bore of said tube y, and has a contracted and cupped rear end, (best seen in Fig. 5,) which is kept from contact with the rim of the primer .r by apspiral spring f, interposed between its shoulder and that of the tube. A cross-pin p, occupying a hole. in said heady? and a groove or open slot in the end of the plunger u, prevents the accidental escape of the plunger without obstructing its effective inward movement. (Compare Figsl and 5.) -Vhen the gun is firedthe inertia of the plunger u, causes it to strike back and explode -the primer .12, which fires the safety-fuse fw, and this, at the end of the time fixed by its length, explodes the detonator 1r, and thereby fires the cartridge E','which in turn fires the main charge. In the projectile represented by Figs. l to 4, inclusive, said detouator 1- is applied directly to the safety-fuse w. The time-fuse is conveniently confined to said head-bore D, and a percussion-fuse I), Fig.l 1, is arranged behind the cartridge E within the long bore of the central tube ll, the latter, togetherwith said powder-chambel's E2, extending/from end to end of the body B, minus the length of a lip C2, by which it is screwed to its base G. The supplemental screw-joint atv this point may facilitate tightly filling the chambers F.2 with some high explosives, and serves pecu- 1 liarly to facilitate so interposing the initial charge between two 'distinct firing-fuses by the location of a percussion-fuse within thev f sented in Fig. 1 comprises an outer metallici tube a,whieh is screwed on the reduced front end b of the base-plug O of this projectile.

a suitably-charged detonating-chambefc, and with a hollow anvil-piece d, extending rearwardly and carrying a primer e; A strikerI f, of conical' outline in front, is held at the rear end of the space within the tube a by4 the pressure of spring fingers g, attached within a hollow v leaden cylinder'h, which is in turn kept therebyin the front end of said space within the tube a until the gun is fired, when the inertia of the cylinder h causes it to slip backward on the point of the striker f. The spring-fingers g then engage beneath a circumfe'rential shoulder 'i formed on said point,'.so that when the onward course of the projectile is arrested the striker, weighted by the leaden cylinder, flies forward and explodes the primer e, and thus fires the detonating-charge within the chamber c, which fices. This is located within the tube Il at the rearend of the body B, and a piece 0f .quick fuse q is interposed between the safetyfuse ,w and the detonator fu, lthe fuses -w and q being securely coupled bya fcrrule 9'. 'lhe small powder-chambers E? of this projectile are closed in front by a rigid loose diaphragm X, which is held against a shoulderY within the body B by a shouldered central tube Z, the front end of which occupies a counterboro within the head A, the interior of the tube forming a continuation of that of said tube I l and of the head-bore l). In front of the diaphragm X is a relatively large cylindrical bullet-chamber S, to be charged in the customary manner. The metallic main portion of the base G of this projectile, together with its internal nipple O", is preferably made integral with the body l; .otherwise the basesof both projectiles are alike. Said improved common projectile, Figs. 1 to 4, in-

elusive, is selected for my claims herein,which do not apply to both projectiles.

The internal construction of the base G,

broadly considered, the peculiar construction specification of even date herewith, constituting part of application, Serial No. 296,048, filed January ll, 1889, and form no part of the present invention exceptlin connection with other elements as hereinafter set forth..

Excepting the base G, as shown in Figs. l, 4, 5, and 8, with its peculiarly-constructed gascheck and rear wad, the several features of my present invention may be embodied alter-v l natively in projectiles for breech-loaders, and The front end of the tube a is provided with other like modifications will suggest ,themselves to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described said improvedl pro-y jectiles, I. claim as my invention and desire to patent under this specificationi 1. A projectile for artillery, havinga cylino drical body provided with powder-chambers for a divided main charge separated by radial partitions integral with the walls of the body and with a central tube, and a head screwed on said body and having a bore aligned with said tube, said tube and bore accommodating an initial charge, and a fuse or fuses' for firing the same, substantially as hereinbefore specified.

IOO

2. In combination with a cylindrical lprojectile body having radial partitions Vand an axial tube integral therewith, a base and a -a self-firing time-fuse comprising a headed and internally-shouldered tube fitted to said bore, a rim-fire primer, the open end of -which protrudes from therear end of said tube, an

inertia-actuated plunger h'aving a shouldered and cupped rear end, a spiral spring interposed bctween the shoulders of said tube and plunger, a detonator in contact with the initial cartridge, and a piece of safety-fuse of the required length interposed between said primer and said detonator, substantially as lierenbefore specified.

4. In a projectile for artiller the combination, with a body containing burstingcharges and 'an axial fuse or fuses for firing the same, of a head having an axial inse-bore and provided with cavities or sockets around and parallel with said fusel ore, 'and with a wood-scrcws,substantially as hcreinbefore 25 specified. v

v STEPHEN Il. IMMENS. Witnesses:

NEWTON W. EMMENS, SAML. B. HAMBURG. 

